Myron e



M. E. GREGG. MAGAZINE GUN.

(No Model.)

No. 430,799. Patented June 24, 1890.

@vita/Lamas 'me mams verza: ce., mum-urna., wuumuron, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

MYRON E. GREGG, OF VASHINGTON, vDISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

MAGAZINE-GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,799, dated June 24, 1890.

Application filed November 30, 1889. Serial No. 332,073. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, MYRON E. GREGG, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Magazine-Guns; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements on my prior patents, Nos. 353,676, 374,597, and 386,245; and my object is to produce a gun which will be safer, more durable, and more perfect in its operation than those hitherto devised.

Vith this purpose in View my invention consists in the peculiar features and combinations of parts, more fully described hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of my device; Fig. 2, a perspective view of the cartridge-cylinder, showing its rear end and the recesses for the catch and locking-bolt; Fig. 3, an end view of the spool-barrel with my improvements applied; Fig. 4, detail views of the hammer and thumb-piece; Fig. 5, a perspective view of the front end of the cylinder, illustrating the spring-lug and its relative position to the other parts of the cylinder; Fig. 6, details of the spring-lug and the removable plug` to which it is attached; and Figs. 7 and 8 end views of the frame, illustrating the spring cartridge-stop at the mouth of the magazine, dotted lines representing the spring-lug and its action when brought in contact with the lug upon the stop.

The reference-number 1 represents the outer casing, which contains the spool-barrel 7 and the spring-actuated cylinder 2, arranged to oscillate by means and in the manner fully described and shown in the prior patents above mentioned. Therefore further description of these particular parts will be unnecessary.

In order to hold the cylinder in sure and rigid position to prevent any possibility of misfire when the hammer is cocked, a springactuated lockingbolt 3 is provided. This bolt enters an arc-shaped recess 4 in the end of the cylinder, and is held therein by means of a lever 5, fulcrumed at 6 upon the rear end of the spool-barrel '7, and actuated by a flat spring 8, engaging its lower arm. The upper end of this spring-actuated lever 5 engages the rear end of the locking-bolt 3 and forces it into the recess 4 in the cylinder whenever the hammer 9 is cocked. The hammer acts upon the spring 3 by a laterally-extending lug 10 upon the lower end of the lever 5, which lug the hammer comes in contact with when down and releases Awhen raised. The bottom of the recess 4 slopes up gradually to the surface of the rear endof the cylinder, thereby permitting the latter to oscillate freely to the left when the catchbar 11 (shown in Fig. 3) is withdrawn. In other words, if the hammer is cocked the end of the locking-bolt will slide out of the recess when the cylinder is turned to the left by its actuating-spring, but will be engaged by@ the partition 13 when the cylinder is moved toward the right by the action of the slide. rlhe tripping-bolt recess 12 slopes in an opposite direction to the one which receives the locking-bolt, and the arc of one recess is out of coincidence with the other, whereby the tripping-bolt will slide over the end of the cylinder and past the recess 4 without entering it, and t-he locking-bolt will slide past the recess l2 in the same manner. Then the hammer is raised, the catch-bar and lockingbolts are both in action, and the partition 13 between the recesses 4 and 12 holds the ends yof said bolts against any possible movement of the cylinder while the hammer is cocked. In the descent of the hammer the latter comes in contact with thelaterally-extending lug 10, thereby depressing the lower end of the lever 5 against the force of the spring 8, as seen in Fig. 1,and withdrawing the locking-bolt from the cylinder and enabling the latter to move toward the right by the action of the slide.

It may sometimes be desirable on account of the bursting of defective shells and for other reasons to render the locking-bolt inoperative until the trouble has been remedied. Therefore I have provided a screw or threaded bolt 14, which passes throughathreaded aperture in the casing upon the right of the spoolbarrel 7, so that the inner end projects back of the lower arm of the lever 5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This inner end of the screw- IOO bolt is reduced on one side to form an eccentric 15, which acts upon the lever. The outer end of the screw is slotted to receive a screwdriver, and by giving the bolt a half-turn the eccentric can be brought around against the lower arm of the lever, thereby withdrawing the locking-bolt from the cylinder and holding it permanently in such position, and when it is thus held the hammer has no action upon the lever. A half-turn of the bolt 14 backward will release the lever and leave it free to be acted upon by the hammer.

In order to prevent the gun from becoming accidentally discharged when the hammer is down bybrin ging the back of the thumb-piece 16 in contact with external objects, the hammer is arranged so that it cannot strike the firing-pin unless actuated by the mainspring. This is accomplished by setting the thumbpiece 16 loosely within the hammer 9, so thatthe thumb-piece will come in contact with the wall 17 of the casing when moved forward,

-without taking the hammer with it.

The thumb-piece is situated within an oblong channel 18 in the hammer, and its neck 19 extends up through the channel, which is made a little wider than the width of the neck to allow the thumb-piece limited play longitudinally of the gun, as shown in Fig. 1.

The hammer and thumb-piece are both, preferably, mounted upon acommon pivot 20; but the thumb-piece may have a separate pivot within the hammer. Both parts are provided with the same rebounding connections described in my prior patents.

It Will be seen that the mainspring engages by means of the stirrup 21 with the hammer at its lower rear end, and that the trigger 22 engages the notch 43 in the thumb-piece at its lower forward end. This arrangement holds the thumb-piece against the rear wall of the channel 18 in the hammer when the latter is cocked, both pieces acting together to iire the gun. The upper end of the thumbpiece is provided with a projection 23, which extends forward through a recess 24 in the upper part of the hammer, and the movable bar 25 comes in contact with this projection to force the thumb-piece back against the rear wall of the oblong channel 18 in the hammer when the gun is cocked by the slide in the loading operation. By this means the travel of the thumb-piece is equal to that of the hammer, so that the trigger will engage thel notch in the lowerend sooner, thus taking up the lost motion which would otherwise occur.

The mouth 26 of the magazine is provided with a spring-stop 27 for retaining the cartridge within. This stop is seated within a cavity 60 in the end of the framecontiguous to the forward end of the cylinder 2. This cavity is made slightly wider than the stop to permit the latter to have a limited movement across the mouth of the magazine. The face of the stop is provided with a lug 28, having beveled ends 29 for the reception of the spring-lug 30 in the end of the cylinder. In the operation of loading, the stop is thrown back clear of the mouth 26 by this springlug 30, which is located in the front end of the cylinder and diametrically opposit-e the firing-pin 3l. The spring-lug is applied to the cylinder by means of a plug 32, which fits within an aperture in the cylinder, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

In these iigures it will be seen that this lug consists, simply, of a iiat piece of spring metal having its inner end securely fastened to the inner end of the plug 32 and its outer end projecting through a recess 33 in the head of the plug. The recess is large enough to permit the spring-lug to have sufficient play away from the aXis of the cylinder to permit it to pass over the lug in the stop. The projecting end ofthe lug is beveled oif to form the inclined surface 34. This lug and that upon the stop are similar in shape, and have their inclined surfaces sloping in the same or nearly the same planes. 'The lug upon the stop 27 lies in the path of the spring-lug 30 upon the cylinder, so that when the latter is oscillated the spring-lug and stop will come in collision alternately, and by their beveled faces lift and be lifted. as they pass each other. This operation is effected by the upper inclined surface of the spring-lug 30 coming in contact with the under inclined surface of the lug 28 upon the stop whenthe cylinder moves to the right, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 7, thus operating the magazine. In the continued movement of the cylinder in the same direction the lug 30 passes the lug 28 upon the stop, and the latter snaps back to its normal position, partially closing the mouth of the magazine. The backward or return movement of the cylinder brings the under side of the spring-lug in contact with the inclined upper surface of the lug upon the stop, which, being rigid, compels the sprin g-lu g upon the cylinder to yield, rise, and slide over it without opening the magazine.

For convenience in construction, ease of operation, and durability of parts, the shoulders for guiding the slide, as shown in my prior patents, have been dispensed with and the bar 25 substituted; but the usual form of slide 36 is still retained. This bar is made to iit and slide longitudinally within a shallow channel 35in the under side of the top of the casing, whereby it is prevented from moving laterally when acting as a guide for the slide which embraces it in the usual manner, as shown in Fig. 7.

The magazine is composed of two sections 40 and 41, the latter being the longer. The interior of the longer section is provided with screw-threads to engage the exterior threads upon the short section 4l, and the latter projects above the interior surface of the magazine, thereby forming the shoulder 44 to receive the shoulder 45 upon the follower 42, whereby the latter is prevented from spring- IOO IIC

ing out of the magazine when the latter is detached from the frame.

It is evident that many slight changes which might suggest themselves to a skilled mechanic could be resorted to without departing` from the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein shown; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A hammer provided with a thumb-piece pivoted within the hammer and havinga limited movement independent thereof, in combination with an arresting device arranged to come in contact with and intercept the thumbpiece when the hammer is down, whereby a blow or pressure upon the rear of the thumbpiece will not actuate the hammer, as setl forth.

2. The combination, .with a trigger, of a hammer and thumb-piece mounted upon a common pivot, said thumb-piece being provided with a notch in its lower portion for engaging the trigger, and having a movement independent of the hammer when the latter is down, and an arresting device, substantially as described, for limiting the forward movement of the thumb-piece, as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination, with the oscillating cylinder, its actuating mechanism, and catchbar, as described, of a spring-actuated lockin g-bolt secured to and having' endwise movement upon the spool-barrel, and arranged to enter a recess in the rear end of the cylinder, and a lever having one arm engaging with the rear end of the bolt and the other arm actuated by the forward movement of the hammer, whereby the cylinder is lirmly locked in the firing position when the hammer is cocked and released when the hammer is down, as set forth.

4. The combination, with the spring-actuated locking-bolt, substantially as described, for holding the cylinder securely in position when the hammer is cocked, of a lever fulcru med upon the rear end of the spool-barrel and having one arm engaging the rear end of said bolt, and a cam located over the opposite arm, and arranged to be turned against the latter, whereby the locking-bolt may be withdrawn and held out of engagement with thecylinder to permit the latter to be turned, as and for the purpose specified.

5. In combination with the casing provided with a groove, a bar located above the cylinder and fitting within the groove, and the slide provided with a longitudinal slot for the reception of the bar, whereby the latter serves asa guide for the slide, in the manner and for the purpose-substantially as described.

6. In combination with the cylinder and its actuating mechanism, a magazine having a spring-stop normally projecting part way across its mouth to restrain the cartridges, and a spring-lug upon the cylinder, whereby the latter will Withdraw the stop from the mouth of the magazine to permit the escape of a cartridge, and then permit it to snap back over the magazine to restrain the remaining ones, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described.

In testimony whereof l aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

`MYRON E. GREGG.

Vitnesses:

EDWIN N. KNAPP, SOPHIA H. KNAPP. 

